Petrobangla is exploring 11 wells with the aim of boosting the country’s gas supply

The state-run Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) announced today that exploration activities are underway in 11 wells with the aim of adding up to 143 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of natural gas to the national grid.

“We expect that approximately 143 mmcfd of gas will be supplied to the national grid upon successful completion of drilling and workover operations in these 11 wells,” Petrobangla spokesperson Tariqul Islam Khan told BSS.

He said the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX), a key subsidiary of Petrobangla, is leading the exploration efforts and is currently drilling eight wells.

Khan, who serves as Petrobangla’s Deputy General Manager, noted that the organization has intensified exploration initiatives and drawn up plans to drill 50 wells by 2025–26 and 100 wells by 2026–28.

The ongoing operations include both drilling and “workover” activities — the latter referring to technical procedures undertaken to repair, stimulate, or enhance production from existing gas wells.

The wells currently under drilling or workover include Sylhet-10, Sylhet-11, Rashidpur-11, Srikail-5, Habiganj-5, Kailashtila-1, Beanibazar-2, Semutang-6, Titas-28, Titas-31, and Bhola.

BAPEX recently made a significant discovery in June this year, confirming the presence of extractable gas at the Jamalpur-1 exploration well in Block-8 — marking the first-ever gas discovery in that block.

At present, the state-owned company is drilling four deep wells — two in the Titas and Bakhrabad fields under BGFCL, and two in the Srikail and Mobarakpur structures.

Additionally, BAPEX, BGFCL, and SGFL are conducting seismic data acquisition, processing, and interpretation in their respective blocks to identify new prospects and potential drilling locations.

Khan said that these initiatives aim to boost domestic gas production and help ease the ongoing gas supply shortage.

Moreover, BAPEX has outlined plans to drill 19 additional wells in Bhola to assess the area’s discovered gas reserves.